The primary purpose of this blog (Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL | Bullion market blog) is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.
This blog contains my opinion, which is not to be construed as investment advices.
Information provided in these blogs is intended solely for informative purposes and is obtained from sources believed to be reliable

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Monday, 5 January 2015

AN IMPRESSIVE START FOR GOLD IN 2015 BUT A DULL END

Every year, when we start afresh, each one has a hope- a hope that markets will do good. There was a similar feeling now as it was when 2014 began.

At the start of 2014 expectations were high that the gold market could shake off and recover from 2013’s drop, where prices ended the year in negative territory for the first time in 12 years.

However, despite strong optimism, gold once again closed the year in negative territory. In the gold market, optimism was strong during the first half of the year. But later, the news hovering around the interest rate hike for gold pulled its prices down.

Fed’s interest rate hike played a significant role for gold in 2014. This helped drive the US dollar higher and pull down gold prices lower.

By the end of 2014, Fed Chair Janet Yellen stated that interest rates will remain unchanged for the next two meeting. Hence analysts and economist expect that the Fed may bring in the first rate hike as early as June.

A thought some believe that interest rate hike may come in soon but there is part of the market who feel that any renewed expectation of looser U.S. monetary policy for a longer period could create some weakness in the U.S. dollar and in turn help push gold prices higher.

Now we await next year’s crude prices and other commodities to see if inflation rears its head or if geopolitics suddenly moves gold.This was a general scenario for 2015. Now let’s take a glance on the first trading day of 2015.The first trading day of 2015 has been exciting for the gold market as prices have swung within a $27 dollar range during the session. Silver prices followed gold's volatility; as of 1:57 p.m. EST,Gold closed 1.6% higher; reclaiming $1,200 after nearing $1,211 in intraday trade, as global risk-aversion and a weaker dollar boosted its safe-haven appeal.

Gold rebounded from a one-month low on Friday, as lower equities counteracted the impact of a stronger dollar and falling oil markets, but still posted its third straight weekly loss. Spot gold fell to its lowest since Dec. 1 at $1,168.25 an ounce after the dollar strengthened, but rebounded to $1,194.10, up 0.63 percent at midday on a disappointing ISM manufacturing index report.

Gold added 0.2% to close above $1,186. Once again varied reasons behind this.

Weak U.S. manufacturing data lifted demand for the metal as an alternative asset.

The rising probability that a new Greek president, when elected, will break the terms of the ECB bailout sent yields Greek bonds and European stocks dipping as traders ran for safety in gold, silver, and the yen.

Factory reports from Europe and China were even weaker. This added to the expectations that their respective central banks will be forced to add more stimuli.

Gold was further supported by a falling dollar, which lifts demand for commodities denominated in it by making them less expensive to users of other currencies.

Though we have always been discussing the precious metals market in general, this time I have also menti0oend the global economies which will down the line affect gold prices in 2015.

Chinese Economy-

We all know that the Chinese economy is heading towards a slowdown. This has led to a rout in commodity prices, may continue to haunt global investors this year as well. The country’s central bank helped the market with interest rate cuts and there is a reasonably good chance for a further cut, given that the real rate of interest is high.

US Economy

Like last year, this year too the interest rate move of the Federal Reserve will be a noticing factor to watch for. The Fed believes that the risks to the outlook for economic activity and the labor market are nearly balanced and expects to remain ‘patient’ to regularize its stance of monetary policy, as per the statement published in December.

Other EconomiesThe ECB will we forced to continue with its easy monetary policy as high unemployment, unutilized capacity and low inflation continue. Apart from these, growth may inch up in Europe and Japan, but may drop in the UK. Among the emerging markets, Russia will decelerate, while Brazil may not pick up appreciably.

If you strongly believe that growth will improve globally his year then it could prove to be incorrect. Thought the much-dreaded US quantitative easing (QE) concluded smoothly last year, but with Japan, Europe and China eyeing QE options, what may be in store for investors in 2015? We need to wait and watch this for!